Did you love me?
by LittleMissMagical
Summary: Annabeth is now 19, and getting up from her heartbreak 3 years ago with the love of her life. She's redesigning mount Olympus and striving to get the job of redesigning the white house in the mortal world. All seems to be on track until she runs into the person she fears seeing most, her old ex, Percy Jackson.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

19-year old Annabeth tapped her foot impatiently in the elevator rising up towards Mount Olympus. She had recently graduated from Harvard and was getting back to her job of redesigning the home of the gods, mount Olympus. It had been one year since she'd been admitted to the phenomenal architecture program of the ivy-league school, and she'd already graduated valedictorian with a high degree in her field. It had been two years since she'd started up on her huge project of redesigning mount Olympus. Now, the Olympians' personal rooms/temples or whatever you want to call them were starting construction. It would probably be done by now if she had started redesigning when she was supposed to three years ago. But she hadn't for personal reasons. Three years ago was the end of the second Titan war as well as the end of her relationship with the most famous modern demigod of all times: Percy Jackson. But that was the past. It had been three years since she'd last seen him. At least in person, that was. Percy had become a professional swimmer in the Olympics and other big competitions. He was famous in the mortal world as well as the demigod world. Annabeth? She was just getting started with her architecture career. Perhaps it was interesting to her, but it definitely wasn't as exciting as being a world-renowned Olympic swimmer touring the world six months a year.

 _Ding!_ The familiar sound of the mount Olympus elevator door opening at reaching the 600th floor of the empire state building snapped her out of her daze.

Stepping out of the elevator, Annabeth saw that the plans she had worked so hard on were progressing the construction. Servants and minor gods tinkered on the buildings. Aphrodite's sacred place was almost complete. Normally, Zeus would have his built first, but Aphrodite's charms won everyone over. Annabeth could smell the fragrance of roses and hear the pleasant tweeting of bird, doves and hummingbirds, no doubt, before even reaching the enormous garden placed in front of Aphrodite's temple. But Annabeth also felt a sense of sadness hanging in the air tinged with saltiness, like in sea water, reminding her of her own experience with love. She rushed past it. She couldn't waste any time today mourning over her misfortunes, she had to go to a meeting with the 9 muses to talk about their plans for their pavilion/temple.

The feeling of sadness left as soon as Annabeth neared the would-be temple of Athena. So far, there was only an arch decorated with shields and other memorable historical artifacts. In her small garden, there was a sundial in the middle, surrounding by a ring of olive trees, each with an owl sleeping soundly on it. One of the smaller owls flapped its wings slightly, and opened one eye drowsily, and Annabeth swore she saw the corners of his beak lift up.

Giggling slightly, Annabeth continued on her way towards the temple of the nine muses. She passed Ares's temple, which was for now just an indestructible fortress. Annabeth could hear battle cries and large explosions in the backgrounds. Annabeth had no idea what the heck he did in there, but it probably wasn't good for her mortal eyes anyhow.

She avoided staying too long there, since it was possible that there was a land mine hidden around here. Finally she spotted the platform where the 9 muses' temple was to be built.

She could see them chatting from a far distance away, each wearing Greek style togas, but of different colors and designs. Annabeth personally was great friends with the muse Thalia. She was quite a lot like her own friend, whom she hadn't seen in a while due to her hunting missions. Thalia (the muse) shared her interest in architecture, and had a great sense of humor. Thalia helped her in designing mount Olympus with her millennia of experience.

Today her friend was wearing a simple sleeveless blue chiton, the blue of a blueprint, Annabeth noted, a slight smile gracing her features. Her silky dark hair was piled up high on her head in a fancy way that Annabeth was seriously jealous of. She had long given up on even brushing her hair. Her blonde curly hair was completely tangled and everywhere, which was why she wore it in a ponytail while working.

When the muses saw her, they smiled friendlily. Waving enthusiastically. Annabeth waved back, smiling. Since she was still looking for a job in the mortal world, she had a lot of free time on her hands and the nine muses and she often hung out together. Together they were able to come up with epic architecture ideas and plans.

Well, while she was looking for a job, it wasn't that she couldn't find one. It was quite the opposite, in fact. Annabeth had gotten many job offers before. But Annabeth had turned them down. She had her eyes set on one job. The redesigning of the white house.

Yes, Annabeth knew she should start small and build less important projects, like renovations of national museums and stuff like that, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. If she went to do another job, the rebuilding of the White House wouldn't be waiting for her.

However, now, Annabeth had a different problem on her hands. The temple of the nine muses. Annabeth was pretty sure that the home mothers of art and science were more in need to be built that the home of the president.

As Annabeth reached her friends, 8 of them beamed at her. Well, Annabeth really didn't expect Melpomene to be smiling at her; she was the muse of tragedy, after all.

"Well, I have this idea…" Thalia started.

Immediately Melpomene interjected, and Thalia and her counterpart began bickering. Soon after, all of the muses had joined in, yelling at each other. One stepped on another's foot, and the fighting transitioned from verbal to physical.

"Oh gods…" Annabeth muttered. This was going to be a long meeting.

"You didn't even hear –" Thalia was saying.

"Well maybe if your other ideas weren't so –" Melpomene started.

"Well, if you were sensible, you would –" another muse began, though she was pushed to the ground by one of her fellow muses.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. The 4000 year-old muses acted more like toddlers sometimes.

"Shut up!" Annabeth yelled. There was no time for their petty arguments right now.

Most of the muses wisely quieted down.

"Well, I was trying to talk when Melpomene rudely interrupted me!" Thalia shouted.

Annabeth shot her an irritated look with her steely gray eyes, and Thalia finally got the message.

"We have only an hour and a half to talk, so let's make it worth it." Annabeth declared, her voice was calm, but the expression on her face told a different story.

The nine muses got into work mode; although they liked to play around a lot, they were truly efficient when it came to working, after 4000 years of experience, of course.

Annabeth left the platform with a satisfied look on her face. She expected, that by tomorrow, the support frames would be set up. Things moved fast on Mount Olympus.

And so Annabeth started back towards her apartment, deciding to take the long route to the elevator, just to tour the rest of the temples.

First, she passed Apollo's temple, temporarily blinding her. It had hardly begun building. Mirrors were placed all around it, reflecting brilliant sunlight, and Annabeth averted her eyes to a sight she wanted to see even less; the temple of Poseidon. But she forced herself to near it anyways. What kind of architect would she be if she avoided her own work?

From afar, Annabeth could see the two twin fountains with a subtle design of swirls engraved on the sides and on top it were four nereids holding up a large open clam shell, spewing water in all directions. Warm sand greeted her flip flops as she walked up the marble stairs lined with Grecian columns. So far, in his temple was a large pool and a hammock. Annabeth decided not to get too close to prevent herself from thinking too much about a certain son of Poseidon. But even from where she stood, Annabeth could hear voices coming from the temple. Annabeth didn't want to eavesdrop, but her curiosity won over eventually. She saw Poseidon wearing a flannel shirt and swim trunks. Facing him (so that Annabeth couldn't see his face), was a younger man in a gray tank top and jeans. He had dark, messy hair and his arms were taught with muscles, which Annabeth couldn't help staring at. It seemed that they were engaged in an argument.

Then, Annabeth made a mistake she would never forget. She stayed for about 5 seconds longer. 5 seconds too long. Seriously. If it weren't for those five seconds, Poseidon would have never seen her, and the other guy would have never turned around. She and Percy wouldn't be staring at each other straight in the eye, at loss for words, after no contact for over three years. Annabeth wouldn't have run up and slapped him.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened. Annabeth stayed, and Poseidon saw her. He stopped talking, his expression morphing from an angry one to a surprised one.

Apparently, Poseidon's companion noticed this, and turned around, following his father's gaze.

Annabeth and Percy were face to face (10 yards away from each other, but minor detail), staring at each other. Percy's expression made the same change as his father's, only more shocked.

For another excruciating 5 seconds, they stayed like that, silent.

They probably would have stayed like that for a lot longer, if Annabeth hadn't snapped out of her daze. Anger started bubbling in her chest.

Without thinking, she stormed up to her ex-boyfriend, fury in her now dark gray eyes.

They were only a foot apart when Annabeth opened her mouth.

"How dare you." She said. Her voice was strangely level, like the calm before a storm.

Percy's expression turned to one of fear.

Annabeth raised her hand, and with one fluid motion, brought it across Percy's face.

 **A/N: First chapter! I hope you liked it! Please R &R! Until next Monday!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

 **A/N: First off, I'd like to thank my 5 first reviewers, 5 in under 24 hours! Also, I got my first pm ever! Thank you so much Lolitathegoddessorca860 for the lovely pm! And thanks for all of the reviews. This gives me the motivation to write on, although I am busy with finals and my other fic too.**

 **Anyways, I hope you like this chapter, though honestly, I have no idea where I'm going with this story. You can always pm me for suggestions!**

 **Also, I think I'll make every other chapter a different point of view, so this chapter will be Percy's point of view.**

Percy sat dejectedly on the couch, his eyes glazed over, and his blue ice cream untouched. The earlier events repeated themselves over and over again in Percy's mind.

*Flashback*

 _"Nice job, Perce." Dave said._

 _Dave and I had been best friends ever since I joined the team two years ago._

 _"Thanks," I said. "You too man."_

 _My friend gave me a slightly hesitant smile, which I didn't quite understand, but I decided to brush it off._

 _Dave was a good swimmer. He was the next best after me, and while we were very different from one another, we both loved the water more than anything else – well Dave loved his girlfriend more, most likely. Girlfriends, more accurately. He's a player, hanging out with one girl one week, the next week, a new girl. Poseidon know what they did during the time they were together._

 _The rest of the team was pretty average. Truthfully, when Percy had first joined the team, it was falling apart completely, dropping out of competitions. Things had seemed impossible and hopeless for the team, and Dave had just barely been getting them into regionals when Percy had showed up._

 _Percy had already been in a few competitions before, winning all of them, and it was a desperate try when the coach of the Tridents had contacted Percy. When Percy had gotten the message, he had already gotten many requests from great teams competing nationally each year._

 _But he couldn't refuse when he'd seen how much help the team needed. Plus, he and Dave had bonded almost immediately after they met, and Percy decided to stay._

 _Anyways, after departing from his friend, Percy headed towards the Empire State Building. He had some serious stuff to discuss with his dad._

 _Percy had just parked opened the door of his light blue Maserati when he saw a female figure walking into the tall building ahead of him. Percy could only see her backside, but she was wearing a camp Half-Blood t-shirt, ripped jeans and running shoes. Her blonde hair was tied back into a pony-tail, which swayed back and forth as she walked in a memorizing way. She was carrying a large bag with rolls of paper sticking out of the top. Percy frowned. For some reason, this seemed like a Deja-vu, something about her seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite pinpoint it._

 _She entered the elevator before Percy could ask her anything, and the door panels shut._

 _And so Percy waited, tapping his feet impatiently as time went by. He assumed it was taking this long because the girl was going all the way to the top; to Mount Olympus. This unsettled Percy as well. Demigods usually didn't just enter Mount Olympus like that. Honestly, it was a surprise that Zeus let himself visit mount Olympus, since the gods are picky like that._

 _Finally, a ding was heard and the doors slid open. Percy rushed inside, pressing 6-0-0. At least he hoped that's what he pressed, he was dyslexic, after all._

 _Waiting in the elevator was just as bad, especially with the 60's elevator music. But at least no one was watching him torture himself, trying to figure out the words of the stupid prophecy this dad had told him._

 _Percy took a deep breath. Heroes only brought themselves trouble by trying to avoid fate. Percy knew that all too well. Even after all of those years, Annabeth's words stuck to his mind._

 _Annabeth… Percy felt a surge of guilt rush through him. He had left her alone and heartbroken without even an explanation. But Percy couldn't explain. It was just too hard. Plus, he would be killed too is he explained it._

 _Another ding was heard before Percy could ponder on that subject for too long, and the elevator doors slid back open._

 _Percy strolled out as the scent of fresh roses greeted him. He momentarily forgot about his problems. He closed his eyes, and in his mind, a picture of his girlfriend, Piper formed. But the image didn't stay there long – it began to ripple like something had dropped in a reflection pool, and soon after, all Percy could see was black. This jolted him out of his reality as he headed towards the temple of his father._

 _Warm sand squished under his feet, and Percy inhaled the salty sea air, feeling right at home. Poseidon was in his laid back mood today, as he had settled in his hammock, sipping some fruit punch out of one of those glasses with mini umbrellas._

 _Percy stopped right behind him and cleared his throat._

 _His father turned around lazily, smiling amicably._

 _"I assume you're here to talk about the prophecy, eh?"_

 _"Dad, this isn't funny. Something bad is going to happen, and you know it." Percy said angrily._

 _Poseidon stood up. "Look, Percy, I know you're mad, but some things can't be avoided. You just have to let them come to you. It's like waves. You've got to let them come to you, and only then will you get the full feeling of the water lapping up against your feet. Only then will you understand the full meaning of the prophecy. Sometimes the waves are just out of your reach, and you've got to accept that okay?"_

 _"Thanks for the great explanation." Percy grumbled. "Now I'm listening to my dad lecturing me about wave metaphors."_

 _His father sighed, "The truth is, I'm a bit worried about this prophecy too; I didn't get many details on it from Apollo, but it's going to be hard Percy."_

 _"I have the Achilles thing, remember?"_

 _"It's difficult in a different way."_

 _For a few seconds, neither of them talked. Percy had a sneaking suspicion of what the answer was._

 _"In what way do you mean, then?" Percy inquired, doing the best to keep fear out of his voice._

 _"You know it already Percy, that's the one thing the prophecy was clear about. But you need to know something; it's not about Piper."_

 _This got Percy's attention, "What do you mean? How do you know?"_

 _"Think twice, Percy. Do you really love Piper, or is it just to start over and forget about the past?" His dad asked._

 _"I love Piper," Percy said, his voice quavering slightly. "I would never use her for anything."_

 _"You like Piper." Poseidon corrected. "That is not the same as loving. Think about the past; has there ever been anyone that you've sacrificed so much for before, someone you'll never forget, no matter how hard you try to?"_

 _"I do love Piper." Percy said in barely a whisper._

 _"You can't even convince yourself of that." His dad said, frowning._

 _"Why can't you tell me more?" Percy pleaded._

 _"Percy, I know you're worried, but this isn't in your control, or my control, or anyone who I know –" Poseidon didn't finish his sentence. His eyes were fixed on something over Percy's shoulder._

 _Percy too, turned around, following his father's gaze. He gasped. Standing there, was the person Percy least expected, besides Nikki Minaj fully clothed with gorgon tusks for teeth._

 _It was the girl he'd seen when he'd entered. The one with the blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, camp Half-blood t-shirt and jeans, and large bag of paper rolls, which Percy now deduced were blue-prints. But Percy barely processed all of that when he saw her eyes. Her stormy gray eyes. Percy could have stared at the all day, but he noticed that her originally shocked expression turned to one of anger. Those beautiful gray eyes darkened. Her fists clenched._

 _For five extremely painful seconds, she just stood there, and Percy just stared. Percy probably would have stared longer, but she began marching towards him, her gray eyes murderous. Percy just had enough time to think "oh hell" when she stood right in front of him, so close that he could feel her harsh exhale against his skin and brought her hand to about his cheek level._

 _Percy began to panic. He tried to move, or at least look elsewhere. But his feet were glued to the ground, and his eyes couldn't break eye contact with hers. Annabeth fucking Chase was about to destroy him. The girl he'd left. The girl who loved him. And he'd loved her back. But none of this seemed to matter to Annabeth as she swiped her hand across the air, landing on his cheek, hard._

 _SPLAT!_

 _Percy had his head turned 45 degrees, and he was once again froze in motion as he watched her run away._

 _"Why that was unexpected…" His dad muttered, but Percy didn't hear a thing._

*End of flashback*

And so that was how Percy had gone home; miserable, with a red hand mark on his right cheek. He'd actually decided to go to his mom's apartment instead, trying to ease the pain with his favorite treat, blue dessert. But so far nothing had worked.

The sound of this phone ringing brought him out of his miserable, dream-like state. He checked the caller ID; Piper.

"Hey Pipes," Percy said. "What's up?"

"Are you still up for our date at Starbucks?" Piper asked.

Oh shit! Percy had completely forgotten about it. He curse at himself silently.

"Oh year, sorry about that. Just had a little encounter with someone who I haven't seen in a long time. It didn't go too well. Plus, traffic." Percy said while racing out of the door.

"Okay, I'll wait for you. I hope you're okay, because you sound kind of dejected right now." Piper said.

Percy nearly cussed out loud. Being the daughter of Aphrodite, Piper knew this kind of stuff.

"I'm fine, see ya!" Percy ended the call and stuck his phone into the back pocket of his jeans.

This day definitely wasn't going his way, Percy thought while getting into his car.

He thought, while driving how he'd explain to Piper the hand mark and whatever the heck he had been talking about earlier. How was he supposed to explain Annabeth without Piper knowing something? Was it time he told her about the prophecy?

Percy was actually kind of relieved for the extra traffic, which gave him time to think about his responses, even though it made his extra late to his date.

What the hell was he going to do?

 **A/N: Okay, I basically wrote this whole thing today, so it might be kind of rushed. Like I said, I have no idea where this is going, but I hope you like it anyways! Thanks for the reviews, once again. I'm open to all your suggestions and all, so, review your thoughts and peace out!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

 **A/N: Okay, I got a lot of hate for the whole Piper and Percy thing, but seriously, you've seen that Percy doesn't love Piper in his conversation with Poseidon. They're not going to be together by the end of this story, don't worry, I'm not too sure where this is going, but I know that Piper and Percy won't end up together. So, the point is, guys, chill out, and just remember, it's all part of the plot. If you don't like it, I'm not changing it just for you.**

 **Anyways guys and gals, I hope you like this chapter, which I also have no idea where it's going.**

 **Idk what reviews will be for this one since it's sort of short and boring, but I made up for it by being early right?**

 **Also, tell me if you want quicker updates and shorter chapters, or slower updates and longer chapters. The schedule will change from time to time, so don't be worried if it doesn't show up**

 **BTW, this could be the last chappie I post before going on vacation, so I might not post next week or the week after that, but I'll come back with two chapters if that's the case. Thanks and enjoy!**

Annabeth had tried everything. She tried to read, but her dyslexia seemed to get worse when she was agitated, she had tried to eat her favorite foods; peanut butter and olive pizza, she had even tried watching a bit of TV, which was always overwhelming for the average demigod, but nothing could take her mind of the events earlier that day.

Annabeth had turned around and run as fast as she could after what she now called "the most embarrassing and horrible incident that happened in the past 3 years and should never ever be thought about again."

The rest of her mind clearly did not agree as it replayed the moment over and over again.

A daughter of Athena who doesn't even have control over her own mind, Annabeth thought bitterly. No wonder Percy had dumped her so long ago. She was nothing special. Percy probably didn't even understand half the things she said to him.

Annabeth groaned. Percy, Percy, Percy. He had always been a thorn in her side since he left. It bothered her, of course, but she could deal with it, the pain had dulled over three year's period of time. Now when she saw him again, it was like the thorn had been pushed much deeper into her, reminding her that it was still there, and it had never left. The healing wound was now as bad as ever.

Annabeth groaned. Why did her life had to be so complicated? Without Percy, she would never had suffered through so much heartbreak, the thorn in her side would never have been there to begin with, maybe she would be a world-renowned architect, hero of both the mortal world and the mythical world. Of course without Percy, the demigods would have never won the war, and they would all be dead, and Annabeth would never feel that emotion known to mortals as 'love' at age 16. Or maybe she could have gotten together with Luke.

But Luke was a different case entirely, Annabeth thought, he had been controlled by his anger long ago and joined Kronos's side. Without Percy, Luke may never have turned back to the gods' side… And maybe Annabeth would have suffered an equal amount of heartbreak, but towards Luke instead of Percy.

Grr, some part of her seemed to contradict everything she thought. Was it possible that Percy's existence was in any way good for her? Sure, he saved the world and all, but what's the point of living if life is without joy and light. The reason they'd fought Kronos in the war was to protect the light and joy in the world.

Annabeth paced the length of her bedroom, unable to understand a thing.

She needed a way to bring the joy and light back into her, she needed a way to make life worth living. She was tired of being by herself all the time, with nothing to look forward to except make blueprints and deliver them to mount Olympus. She needed more to her life than just architecture, she was an ADHD demigod, not a mortal who spent their lives locked up inside, obsessed with work.

Over the past three years, Annabeth had missed more than Percy. She had missed fighting, feeling the surge of adrenaline in combat, knowing that any moment, life could be over. She missed the thrill of doing something dangerous, proving that it was possible. She missed simply relaxing and enjoying the sunshine on her skin, maybe with her favorite ice cream, maybe wearing a real dress… with nothing at all to worry about, as if for a moment, all of her problems were solved.

Annabeth shook her head; she couldn't do that; she was Annabeth Chase, she couldn't just forget about her job, her horrible past, her family, and her far off dreams and goals. If she relaxed for a single day, what if everything was lost? If pretty much every great leader is right, work leads to success. If she wanted to reach her goals and dreams, she would have to work to get it. Sitting back and relaxing was not an option. That would be equivalent to watching her dreams go down the drain, saying goodbye to all her goals in life. She had already gone so far, she couldn't stop now and watch everything go downfield.

But does work lead to happiness? Annabeth plopped on her bed, hating the little voice more and more. If you're successful, you are happy! Annabeth wanted to say, but she knew it wasn't true. Success didn't really matter if you weren't happy. There was no point in being successful if you didn't enjoy it.

But… Annabeth began to think, but her mind changed course. Come on Annabeth! Man up! You're a demigod, for Zeus's sake! Take a risk every once in a while. You've been cooped up for too long, and your thoughts have become clouded.

Annabeth took a deep breath. Maybe, if she took a chance, she would be thinking clearer; perhaps it would be beneficial to her.

But taking risks wasn't like Athena, or her children. They were about careful planning, and skillfully working their way around barriers and problems. Perhaps wasn't a good word. It indicated that there was another possibility that would be much less agreeable.

But you're stuck, the voice returned in Annabeth's head. You can't work your way around it this time, or else you're just digging yourself deeper into a hole.

Annabeth had a sneaking suspicion that the voice had some outside influence, but nonetheless, it was correct. Annabeth had a problem that she couldn't just think or work her way out of. Annabeth couldn't help but remember the war with Kronos, where she had gone on life-threatening quests, fought seemingly impossible battles, and experienced love in its gentlest, kindliest form. Life had been so exciting back then. She was a hero, and she felt like one too.

Where was the old Annabeth? She wondered. Maybe it was time to go on a date, and get over Percy once and for all.

But she couldn't just walk up to some random guy and ask him out; no, Annabeth had more sense than that, online dating seriously gave Annabeth the creeps (you never know who's on the other side!), which left her with one option: Camp Half Blood.

Well, she actually had two options, Camp Half Blood or going to a bar, getting drunk and ask other people at the bar out, except she wasn't 21 and those kind of people weren't her type anyways. But did she actually know what her type of guy was?

Annabeth pondered that for a moment before her mind moved on to the dreaded location of Camp Half Blood. She hadn't been there in a very long time, and for good reason. First off, it reminded her too much of Percy. Her favorite place had been the canoe lake, where she and Percy had shared the underwater kiss, and the rest of the camp reminded her too much of the good times she'd had with him as well. Everyone else at camp wasn't helping either. They seemed the remember her as "Percy's ex-girlfriend", which may be fine to a slut who just wants to be remembered as someone's famous girlfriend or ex, but Annabeth wanted to have her own reputation as a strong, independent woman with great intellect and fighting abilities.

This should be easy enough, Annabeth thought. She wasn't as famous as Percy, she was already a heroine of the war. Now all she needed to do was rebuild that reputation.

And so Annabeth did what she would have never done a day ago. She cancelled all of her work plans for the following day, and tried to live like a normal demigod for one day, if normal demigods even existed.

This is your new chance, Annabeth, she told herself, checking for the bus times to Long Island. Hey, some things, like always being prepared would always be part of her.

 **So, I hope you like this new chapter, and remember, I might be going on vacation soon, so this may be the last time I update for another two weeks or so. But I'll make up for it! Don't worry. R & R, and no more about Piper and Percy, cuz the love between them isn't quite as it seems, especially now.**

 **I'm also sorry this is really short, and maybe boring for some of you, but I needed to get her thoughts changing out there. I'm honestly kind of scared for the reviews for this one.**

 **But it's early, so there!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

 **A/N: Yay! Over 1000 views! Not as many reviews I'd like, but oh well, what did I expect? I love you guys, seriously. I hope you guys like this chapter as well. If you don't, then, I'm sorry. Here's one with Percy's point of view. Last chapter was a bit short, and there wasn't any dialog, but that's kind of what Annabeth is like right now. I just really needed to get her changing thought process out there. Here's a freer and more relaxed chapter, for you guys who got bored on my last one.**

 **This is officially the last chappie before I leave. Don't expect more from me. Also, my other story is on some sort of hiatus, and I'm wondering if I should take it down or not. Thanks for the help ahead of time!**

 **So, without further ado, Percy's point of view, the official chapter 3 but technically chapter 4… whatever.**

"Hey Pipes." Percy greeted his girlfriend, breathing hard.

"You're late." She scolded lightly.

"Sorry," Percy muttered. "Just bumped into someone I knew, and it kind of got complicated."

 _Actually, more mortifying and embarrassing than anything else._ Percy thought darkly.

Piper narrowed her eyes, "About that, could you tell me what happened? You sound a bit shaken up."

The hairs on the back off my neck stood straight up. I mentally cursed. Piper had this uncanny ability to tell when I'm distressed or unnerved, so it was hard to slip anything past her. Plus it was really hard to lie to her without that, since she has charmspeak and all to convince you of everything.

"It's nothing important, you'll just have to trust me on this." He said in his steadiest voice possible.

Piper eyed him for a moment with her irises always changing from brown to hazel to green to blue. Percy ran a hand through his hair, noting how good she looked today. Her dark brown hair was in a braid to the side. She was wearing a cute red halter top shirt and ripped jeans. To most who didn't know her, Piper probably seemed like one of those popular girls at the mall who fail school and party every night till early morning, but she was probably as sharp has her knife, katropis, which by the way, had been barely used in combat since ancient times.

"Okay." Piper said suspiciously.

Percy's mind turned back to what Poseidon had told him. Sure, he appreciated Piper's beauty, she was glad that she was always there to support him, he felt that he could depend on her for just about anything, and her trusted Piper with his life… but then why couldn't he tell her about Annabeth?

"I know you don't like coffee, so I got you a soda and a cookie." Piper continued, seeming to have forgotten about his being late for now.

"Thanks," Percy said, both relieved and very hungry.

"Do you have any tours going on soon?" Piper asked.

"Not that I can think of," Percy replied with his mouth full.

"That's not reassuring, and don't speak with your mouth full." Piper chided.

"This is the only way to fully savor the taste." Percy argued.

"Oh please," Piper said, rolling her eyes. "Your mom's blue cookies are way better."

Percy's face lit up, "I know right!"

He grinned, the good feeling of hanging out with Piper returning.

"Uh, so I was thinking…" Piper started, looking a little nervous.

Whoa, whoa. Piper was never nervous. Or as far as Percy could tell, since she hid her nervousness quite well. It came with being a demigod and not trying not to be killed by monsters. Annabeth always told him that keeping a calm façade would help you in the long run, since it gave you time to think and talk your way through the problem…

Percy gritted his teeth and pushed Annabeth out of his mind. She was a stranger to him now. A stranger who slapped him an hour ago.

"That if you're off your tour, we could go on vacation together." Piper finished.

Percy barely heard her, through all of his crazy thoughts.

"What?" Percy asked.

"I said go on vacation, seaweed brain."

 _Seaweed brain._ Percy's old dreaded nickname. Only Annabeth called him that.

"Please don't call me that." Percy croaked out, his the taste of his cookie in his mouth turned stale. His mouth would have probably gone dry, if he weren't a son of Poseidon.

"Excuse me?" Piper gave him an affronted look.

"It brings back bad memories." Percy explained.

That was only partially true. To be honest, the dangerous quest days he'd spend with Annabeth seemed to be the best memories he'd had of all.

But ever since he and Annabeth had parted ways, it was like the goodness of the memories had left too.

He didn't know why the nickname actually bothered him so much. If he was over Annabeth, why did it matter what Piper called him?

"I won't ask, then." Piper said softly, putting her hand over his on the table.

Percy appreciated that Piper didn't push him, especially since she could always tell when something bothered him. But at the same time, he felt guilty. Piper trusted him. She trusted that he would tell her if something serious was wrong. But Percy couldn't bring himself to tell her.

Later, he decided.

"Uh, yeah, so, about the vacation thing, where do you want to go?" Percy inquired.

"Well, some exotic place like the Bahamas would be nice." Piper admitted, blushing slightly.

Percy laughed, "Come on Piper, you can go there with me when I'm on tour if you want. Summer's almost over anyways. There's only like two weeks left."

Piper blushed a deeper red, "Please shut up."

Percy just smiled, "Whatever you say, beauty queen."

"What do you say then?" Piper asked, clearly anxious to get off of that subject.

Percy thought for a bit.

"How about Camp Half Blood?" Percy asked. "We haven't been there in a while, and I just want to go there once before summer is over and I start with my touring and swim schedule all over again."

Piper pondered this for a moment, "I suppose." She finally said. "I kind of miss Lacy and my chums in the Aphrodite cabin anyways. I hope Drew hasn't influenced them in any negative way."

"Come on." Percy grinned, remembering all of the fun times he'd had at Camp Half Blood. Although this whole touring and swimming competitively thing was fun, Camp Half Blood was the first place he'd felt like he'd belonged. It seemed to be the one thing in his life that stayed constant; the one thing he could always depend on to be there for him. "It'll be fun. We met at Camp Half Blood, remember?"

It's also where he and Annabeth had met… Percy couldn't help but think. What if this only brought back sad memories? Was this a bad idea after all? Too late to turn back now.

"Okay then," Piper said. "When do we leave?"

"How do you feel about tomorrow?"

 **(A/N: I actually felt like ending the chapter here, but that was way too short, so I decided against it. But it does sound like a good stopping place, doesn't it?)**

"Perfect." Piper replied, as her phone beeped.

"Who's texting you?" Percy asked.

"Oh, just this guy I met last night at this party." Piper said nonchalantly.

"And you gave him your phone number?" Percy frowned at his girlfriend. Piper was generally pretty careful about this kind of stuff.

"He seemed like a nice guy, okay." Piper stuck her tongue out at him. "His name is Jason, by the way, and I think he's a demigod."

"He has a demigodish name, but that doesn't mean anything." Percy muttered.

"No, no…" Piper said, suddenly nervous once again. "I could like feel his power, he like radiated power… I don't know how to explain it, it just kind of… attracted me."

"Attracted you?"

"Not that way!" Piper said quickly. "It was like his power was pulling me towards him. It was kind of odd actually."

"You haven't felt that way before?" Percy inquired, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, sort of. Not really."

Percy snorted. "That makes no sense at all."

"Can we talk about something else?" Piper pleaded.

"Was he cute?" Percy asked.

Piper blushed deep red, "I guess so, I mean, not as cute as you of course!"

She looked like she was going to die of mortification, so Percy let it go. He definitely wasn't the jealous type.

At least he didn't think so. If he didn't love, love Piper, than he wouldn't feel jealousy for her anyhow, right?

Argh! He was definitely overthinking it. And although Percy didn't know if he was the jealous type or not, he did know that he liked to keep things simple.

"Whatever," Percy finally relented. "It doesn't matter. We should probably get going anyways; it's starting to rain."

It was true, but that didn't really matter that much to Percy since he could be waterproof at will. Things were kind of getting awkward, and Percy had a feeling that he wasn't the only one feeling that way.

"Of course." Piper said. "Where do you want to meet up tomorrow?"

"I'll go to your house and I can drive you." Percy answered.

"Great," Piper said, getting up from her seat. Percy stood up as well, and Piper came up to him, stood on her tippy toes and pecked him on the lips.

Percy watched her go, just standing there for a few moments, wondering if she had noticed that he hadn't kissed her back.

What the hell was going on?

 **So, as you can see, I extended this chapter quite a bit. I actually am getting quite into this story now, thanks to your reviews, unlike my other one, which seems to be going on hiatus.**

 **I think I'll start answering reviews if you have any questions.**

 **And I really don't want to hear another Percy and Piper comment, because things will play out as they do, and this is a Percabeth story if you read the thing on top of the fanfic. Thanks guys, and until next time, which won't be for another 2 or 3 weeks or so. I'll really miss on updating for you guys though, since the reviews are so nice to get (mostly** **J** **). R &R!**


	5. Chapter 5 (Sort of Part 1)

Chapter 4

 **Hello! Did you miss me? I hope you did. If you didn't, then, oh well.**

 **Sorry for the late update. I don't really have very much so say, and I don't want to hold you up with too many author's notes, but enjoy Annabeth's perspective about going to Camp Half Blood! Some unexpected events happen…**

Annabeth stepped off the bus with a small duffel bag, wearing a Camp T-shirt, jean shorts, a silly hat that she had found for five dollars, Nike (the sneakers of victory) shoes, and a pair of cheap sunglasses that would probably scare any child of Aphrodite away.

She would need to walk about 10 to 15 minutes through the woods to get to camp half blood.

Not a bad way to begin her break, she supposed, but she was feeling a knot starting to form in her stomach.

The walk gave her a little bit too much time to think. What if half way there, she turned around and decided that it was too hard to continue. Maybe she was scared about what the campers would think of her after all this time. Maybe they had completely forgotten about her.

Annabeth took a deep breath and walked into the forest. How bad could it be?

The trip there went fine. Annabeth had actually felt relaxed while walking in the woods. It reminded her of better times, when she didn't always rush to places as fast as possible.

Camp Half Blood was her first true home. Of course they would accept her for who she was as they always had. And Annabeth lacked some life in her life, which didn't seem to make much sense, but it did if you thought about it (sort of).

The fresh air was really refreshing, and Annabeth couldn't remember the last time she was in such a peaceful environment. Her past life (meaning yesterday) seemed so very uptight and tense before, only she didn't seem to notice it.

Annabeth heard her phone ring. She didn't answer momentarily, stunned by the abrupt interruption from her promenade.

Then, slowly, she picked up her phone, and saw an alert.

"Shi… shoot!" Annabeth muttered.

She had one more week to submit her plans to the white house. Did she mention that she had barely started?

She was missing out on getting her dream job. Annabeth resisted the urge to run right back. She was almost at Camp Half Blood now, and she had gathered up all of her courage to do this.

Another day, she told herself. But she still had doubts. The white house would not be waiting for her, and she had tons of really talented and experienced competition.

And so Annabeth continued marching through the mass of trees, and soon camp half-blood came into sight.

It was just as she remembered it; the Golden Fleece hanging on Thalia's tree, the two columns marking the entrance with a stone slab on top reading Camp Half-Blood in Greek, and two smaller columns two the sides, each holding a bowl filled with flames.

Before she could change her mind, she jogged up the hill to her old home. Camp Half Blood was the safest place for demigods, right?

Annabeth saw no one as she walked through the entrance of camp. Then, she realized it was 10 in the morning, and everyone must be at their classes.

Perhaps I should settled in the Athena cabin, she thought, making her way towards the cabins. She was kind of glad that there was no one to greet her at the entrance so that she could think about what she would say. At the same time, she felt that there was nothing keeping her from leaving from what she had needed so much courage to do.

The Athena cabin was around in the middle of the cabins. Annabeth could now see just how much camp had changed since she left. The campfire and all was still there, but there were about three times more cabins. Minor gods, Annabeth assumed. Percy had requested this at the end of the titan war, Annabeth recalled, ignoring the tugging pain in her chest.

There must be some 200 kids at camp now, Annabeth thought, surprised. Before, at most, camp had 70 or so kids.

As she entered the Athena cabin, Annabeth felt the smell of organization overwhelm her nose; yes she could smell that. She looked around, and smiled to see that the Athena cabin didn't seem to have changed a bit. There were two lines of beds, a curtain separating them. Each line of beds had 6 beds. One line for the girls, one line for the boys. However, you wouldn't be able to guess which side was which, because they were all equally organized with equally bland colors.

The bed sheets were white, unless you were the head counselor, in which you got the owl bedsheet, which, by the way, was impossible to get dirty. Beside every bed was a desk with a lamp. Each desk had stacks of books and papers for whatever they were studying, and privacy curtains separated each bed.

At the very back for the room, though, was Annabeth's favorite place since she was seven; the library. Shelves and shelves of books covered the entire back wall.

In front of the shelves, were couches that Annabeth had often flopped on to read. Good times, those were.

Annabeth was so overwhelmed taking it all in, that she jumped when a voice behind her asked, "Are you new here?"

She turned around, and saw a girl who was about 13 or 14 standing in the doorway. She had short brown hair, and purple tinted glasses. Her eyes were a pale gray, and she wore a camp half-blood t-shirt, long jeans and combat boots, as if she couldn't quite decide whether it was winter or summer.

"Uh hi, I'm Annabeth Chase." Annabeth introduced herself. "I'm not new here, I'm just visiting for a while."

"Annabeth Chase? I think I've heard of you before. I think it was about the titan war or something…" She muttered.

"I used to be the counselor of the Athena cabin." Annabeth said, praying to her mother that the girl wouldn't say anything about Percy.

"Weren't you with that hero, Percy Jackson?" She asked.

Annabeth cursed under her breath. 3 years, and she was still known as Percy's girlfriend, even to someone who'd never met her before.

"Used to be." Annabeth said, trying to sound like it wasn't a big deal. "We broke up 3 years ago."

"Oh, sorry." She said, the look in her eyes not quite so sorry. "My name is Ashley."

"Cool." Annabeth said, feeling really uncool about how the whole situation was going. "Can you show me where Chiron is?"

"Sure. He's at the archery range right now, I think." Ashley muttered.

"Great." Annabeth tried for a smile. "Let's go find him."

Annabeth tried to make small talk while going to find Chiron.

"So, how long have you been here?" Annabeth asked.

"A year or so." Ashley replied. "I'm 14 now."

"Do you like camp?" Annabeth asked.

"I guess so." She answered. "I mean, if it weren't for Marilyn, it would be even more enjoyable."

"Marilyn?" Annabeth wondered aloud. "Who's that?"

"Our counselor." Ashley said. "She's really stuck up, but she's a pro with the bow and arrow – like as good as the Apollo children. She's also our main capture the flag strategist. She acts really nice on the outside, but she orders us around in the Athena cabin."

"That's terrible!" Annabeth exclaimed, outraged that her position had been taken by a person like that. "Stand up to her. Athena is a strong female figure in Greek mythology! Letting her treat you like this and not fighting it – that's a disgrace to our mother."

Ashley lowered her head shamefully, but shook her head. "She's got a whip by her bed, and if you try something, she'll be punishing you. Once, I tried to tell her to stop, and I got this."

Annabeth hadn't noticed before, but a long red mark went across Ashley's forearm, no doubt the doing of a strong whipping.

"Still, all of you guys working together can hold down one demigod. If you're all too scared, this will be the way the cabin will be forever." Annabeth insisted.

Ashley stayed silent.

They walked in silence until they arrived at the archery range.

There, sure enough, was Chiron the centaur.

Annabeth hesitated. How would Chiron greet her after all these years?

He had been like a father to her ever since she'd come to camp so many years ago, since she was 7. Then, he had trained her ex-boyfriend to save the world, and he was no doubt his favorite student, during that period of time, which meant he must have not taken sides when the two of them broke up – hopefully.

Annabeth took a risk. She was tired of living in fear, fearing that something might go wrong. Well now it was clear that whatever path she took had its risks, and she would just have to get used to it.

And so Annabeth took a deep breath, walked up as close to Chiron as possible, keeping personal space in mind, and cleared her throat.

As he turned around, Annabeth tried to follow his expressions the best she could. First he seemed confused, then shocked, and then finally (after a long and awkward while), a smile started to form on his face.

"Welcome home, Annabeth." He said, grinning. And I couldn't help but grin back.

The rest of the day went by in a blur.

Annabeth joined in in camp activities, which was a lot more fun than she remembered it being. Although she was out of practice with some of them, she still seemed pretty solid in my sword fighting and all. Chiron told her that she'd be up to speed again if she continued for a few weeks.

Annabeth felt an uncomfortable sensation in my stomach. It was just too bad that she couldn't stay a little longer. But there was something more to that sensation; for some reason she felt a sense of dread as well. Was something bad and horribly unexpected to come?

Annabeth was sitting on the rocks near the canoe lake and sighed deeply, unsure of what to do. The sky had started to darken even though it was only half past two, and she decided that she ought to go back to her cabin and meet some of her cabin mates if she were to spend the night here.

Just then, someone tapped her shoulder.

Annabeth spun her head around and saw a handsome, yet unfamiliar face. He had light brown hair, gelled back in an attractive way. He had the most amazing sea blue eyes ever, only second to a pair of sea green eyes glued in her mind. He had awesome eyebrows, a long, straight nose, and a winning smile. He had a lean frame, though he wasn't Mr. Muscles, he obviously had toned arm muscles from what Annabeth could see, like an archer, she decided.

"Hey," He said. Annabeth couldn't help but sigh contently. His voice was deep and rich, though not too deep. "Are you new here?"

Annabeth realized that she looked stupid staring. "Um, no. I'm not new here. I just left a while ago and came back. I'm Annabeth Chase, by the way."

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Derek Levine." He frowned a bit. "Annabeth Chase? I've heard of you before. I was in the battle of Manhattan, actually, but you never noticed me, and I never talked to you because, well, you were dating Percy Jackson. But I heard you guys broke up a while ago. Oh sorry. Did I offend you? I didn't mean to."

Annabeth tried to keep her emotions under control. He was no doubt a son of Apollo. He had a big mouth, but Annabeth didn't really mind people with big mouths after all these years.

"Um, yeah. That's okay. I just don't like to talk about him, that's all. What can I help you with?" Annabeth asked.

"Sorry." He smiled sheepishly. "Mind if I sit with you for a while? Just to keep you company, if you feel like it."

"I suppose that would be nice." Annabeth smiled.

He grinned at her, and all of a sudden, the sun seemed brighter once again.

They talked about their interests in life, favorite animals, and worst habits. And before she knew it, it was four.

Annabeth stood up and stretched. "It was really nice talking to you. I should probably get going though."

"Um, that's fine, but can I ask you a question before you leave?" Derek asked, seeming a little nervous.

"Sure, just make it quick." Annabeth smiled reassuringly.

"Well, I was wondering if you could go to the KIG celebration with me."

"The what?"

"KIG stands for Kronos is gone. We've had a party for it each year. It's in two days." He said.

"I was only planning on staying one day, actually –" A little voice inside of Annabeth's mind said, _take a break. You can do the blueprints whenever at camp. Just do this for him and yourself, and you might get a boyfriend._

"You were saying…" Derek said uncertainly.

"Yeah, sure. I'll go with you." Annabeth relented.

Derek smiled widely. "Great! See you!"

Annabeth watched him jog away from her stance on the shore of the lake. She had just gotten herself a date! In fact, as Annabeth walked back to her cabin, she was feeling pretty good until she saw him.

Who was _him_? He was the guy that Annabeth loved and hated beyond all reason.

Percy Jackson.

What was he doing at camp? With his… girlfriend?

Annabeth gulped and ran back to her cabin as fast as possible. Her plans for today were: Avoid Percy by going dress shopping for the party the rest of the day.

The sky agreed with her foul mood at seeing Percy by turning from a blue to a gray.

 **A/N: Really sorry for the late update. I'm updating Immortal soon, by the way. This is not the end of Annabeth's POV. I guess it's kind of like a part 1. We'll see. Anyhow… R &R!**


	6. Chapter 6 (and end of 5)

**Chapter 5 (Part 2) and 6**

 **A/N: I apologize for the latest update on earth, and for the crappy action in this rather long chapter. Oh well, at least it's a new chapter! Hope you like it!**

Annabeth POV.

No effing way. Annabeth normally didn't curse, but she was willing to make an exception this once. Was he freaking stalking her? Annabeth had had enough with that one encounter the other day, the gods really were out for her. She felt like she might drop dead because of the shock any moment, and she wouldn't be surprised if down in the underworld, she saw _him_ too.

But the problem at hand; Percy was actually here, and she wasn't going to spend any unnecessary time with him. And so her original plan to borrow some Aphrodite girls' dress went down the drain. She was going to do something she had always avoided – shopping.

Annabeth was now at the bus stand, waiting for a bus to take her to the dress shop. She was reluctant to leave capture the flag and the campfire, but it was definitely better than an awkward face to face with Percy. She was wise enough to not repeat that episode. She definitely wasn't her wisest that fateful day she slapped Percy which happened to be… what? Yesterday?

She growled in impatience, waiting for the stupid bus to arrive. It was supposed to arrive 3 minutes ago… just as that thought came through her brain, a long white bus appeared. Annabeth took a deep breath before stepping into the bus. She was really going to miss her favorite game and the campfire. Her one day of vacation was ruined. All because of Percy. So she was determined to make the best of the rest of her day where Percy couldn't possibly go: dress shopping at the clothing. Unless, of course, his girlfriend, Piper dragged him along to the exact same place. Don't jinx it! Annabeth scolded herself.

Annabeth lost track of time as the bus moved. She figured if she was going to stay at the camp a few more days to wait for the dance, she might as well get the most working time when she could. But it wasn't even clear that she would be spending extra days at Camp Half Blood, seeing as she would need to interact with Percy. She pulled out Daedalus's laptop, toggling with the controls for one of her projects. But it wasn't even clear that she would be spending extra days at Camp Half Blood, seeing as she would need to interact with Percy.

The majority of her told her that she should just leave. If Percy was preventing her from have a good time the one day she needed a break, then she was going to avoid him and leave to allow herself to have a good day.

The some part of her fought against that thought. She wasn't afraid to face Percy. She couldn't just leave because someone was blocking her. She couldn't live her entire life in fear of one ex that had dumped her so many years ago, especially now that he was famous. Maybe she shouldn't have left the camp for shopping after all.

Nah, she needed a little time to clear her mind.

The bus stopped just then at a dress store that she'd never been to before, but had seen good reviews for on her laptop.

She got off by herself, and entered the shop.

The cool air-conditioning hit her face, and she let out a deep sigh.

If she didn't find a dress, at least she got AC.

But still, she didn't waste any time looking. She found a red one and a green one by the end of an hour. The red one was sleeveless and looked quite tight it reached the ground. The green one had one inch straps, and reached midthigh. It had sequins around the waist. She found both slightly too revealing as she tried them on.

She sighed, why waste time on finding the perfect dress if she didn't really like the guy yet? She should just save some effort, it was only a party after all.

A woman, who seemed to have picked up on her mood, came towards her, "Do you need any help finding a dress just for you?"

"Yes, actually." Annabeth admitted. Usually, she hated to show any weakness. But she knew that fashion definitely wasn't her strong point.

Annabeth's expectations weren't too high, so her jaw dropped when she saw what the woman picked out. How had she missed it?

The dress was absolutely beautiful (A/N: I'll put the link at the bottom because I suck at describing dresses). The silver material was silky, and wrapped around her body nicely. The straps weren't really straps, but a white, almost transparent looking and wide. There was a beautiful and intricate design on it, and did she mention, it was silver? It was modest, and left a lot to the imagination.

"Is this what you're looking for?" She asked.

For the first time since I entered the store, I smiled. "Perfect. Thanks so much."

At least that's what she thought until I checked the price tag. "259 dollars?" Her mouth went dry.

"I suppose I could give you a discount, since it really seems great for you. How's $100?" She said.

Annabeth felt a rush of gratitude. "That would be amazing. Thank you so much."

And so Annabeth left the store with a small smile playing on her lips, and walked to the bus stop. She waited for 5 minutes, which was when it started storming. 10 minutes later, the rain and lightning only increased, and so did Annabeth's panic level.

It didn't seem that the bus was coming any time soon. Annabeth checked her phone, 6:10, and it was almost out of battery. She needed to call someone to pick her up, camp half-blood wasn't exactly close. But who to call? She couldn't call her dad; he was still in San Francisco. And that's when the realization hit her that she didn't have any real friends. She should've gotten Derek's number while she could. Mentally cursing, she went through all of her other contacts. Thalia was in North Carolina with the hunters, and the rest of the demigods normally didn't carry cellphones. The only other number she had was… Annabeth felt her stomach churn. She almost wished that number weren't there, but she had never bothered to delete it.

Annabeth took a deep breath and gathered her courage. _Come one,_ she thought. _It's just for this once. I am not staying her all night._ 5% left, she realized. She chewed her lower lip as she pressed call.

The worst part was probably the wait. The phone rang for about 10 seconds, which she forced herself not to hang up in, before he picked up.

"Um, hello? Annabeth, is that you?" The voice on the other end sounded static and unclear, but it was enough to make Annabeth overwhelmed. Also, she realized that one of two things must be true. Either he had never deleted her contact information, or he had remembered her phone number, or else he couldn't have known it was her.

"Yeah, it's me." She said, trying to get it over with as soon as possible. "Listen, I really don't want to do this, but you're the last person I could get to, so…"

"What is it?" Percy said. She could hear the worry in his voice across the line, though she probably just imagined it.

"I'm at that bus stop near the mall right now, and the bus didn't come. I need someone to pick me up. You can tell –" Annabeth didn't get to finish.

"I'll be there in 20 minutes." Percy said. The line went dead.

Annabeth groaned. Just great. She had tried to spend the day away from Percy, and ended up most likely being alone with him.

The gods just didn't give her a break.

 **And now, chapter 6 officially starts.**

Percy POV.

Well, this certainly wasn't what he'd been expecting.

The day had started off well enough. He had taught kids sword fighting, spent time with Piper at the canoe lake, and then brought victory to his team during capture the flag. Then, right in the middle of the campfire, one of his favorite parts of camp half-blood, he got a call. A call from his ex.

He knew it would be trouble from the start, since he could hear the thunder and lightning outside, which fortunately didn't penetrate camp half-blood. But the real reason he was unsettled, was that Annabeth hadn't called in 3 years, and she certainly wouldn't call unless it was absolutely 100% urgent.

After the call ended, Percy thought, well, at least she's not in trouble, or hurt.

"Who was that?" Piper asked.

"A friend," Percy said. "She's stuck somewhere in the storm, and needs my help. I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Okay." She said. He gave her a quick peck on the lips before getting to his car.

When he got on the road, he realized how bad traffic was, and that there was no way that he was getting to Annabeth in twenty minutes. He tried to call her but she didn't pick up.

Percy grit his teeth, "Whatever." He muttered before taking off. Annabeth needed him right now.

Annabeth POV.

Where was Percy? Twenty minutes later he was nowhere to be seen. But looks like the monsters found her before he did. Just her luck.

She should've known that the phone call would attract monsters. And she did know, she was just so desperate at the time… as desperate as she was right now.

The little snakes were teaming up on her, and her dagger wasn't much of a help. If she remembered correctly, they were basilisks, and killed anything they touched. That meant short range was not the way to go. She had managed to slice two who had pounced, and kicked one away, which made her shoe start to be eaten away. She thanked the god that she had worn closed toed shoes, though they were her favorite Nike shoes, and cost as much as the dress did.

But none of that bothered her. Her eyes were fixed on the 5 remaining little monsters. The fact that they were so hard to reach and deadly to touch didn't help her case.

Wonderful, she thought sarcastically, Annabeth Chase, heroine of the war, killed by teeny little snakes. Finally, a snake pounced straight at her stomach. As a reflex, she dodged to the side, but her shirt was still singed, and a hole began to form. She anticipated that basilisk's next move, and ducked as she back rolled into the grass. She then took the opportunity to slice the snake's head off. Unfortunately, the other four were advancing on her. She was on her butt in the wet grass as the snakes slithered across the concrete. Annabeth tried to think of a brilliant plan, but the fact that the basilisks were on loose pieces of concrete that kept on clunking as they moved was distracting her. That was it; if one of them touched her skin, she was dead.

A light bulb lit up in her mind. That was it! If the snakes hit each other, they would burn each other.

Then, the basilisks blew fire. Annabeth gulped. One more thing to worry about.

Annabeth's mind worked fast. If she could get them to hit each other… she almost screamed. The snakes were taking their sweet time slithering on those dang loose concrete pieces, clunking nonstop, penetrating her train of thought.

Of course! The stupid stones cold smoosh them together, so that they would surely hit each other.

Acting quick as possible, Annabeth used her last bit of strength to lunge towards the concrete, her palms on the cement, dangerously near the monsters, as she used all her might to bring up the two loose concrete blocks against each other. As they collided, so did the basilisks. And Annabeth felt both tired and satisfied. That was before she heard the chorus of hisses behind her. There, in the bushes, where 10, 15, 20 some basilisks, looking angry as ever. Annabeth's dagger was several feet away, and she was in no condition to fight over 20 little monsters.

Her head was fuzzy as she tried to get up on one and a half shoes. And grab her weapon. She was ready to make her last stand.

Percy POV.

He drove as fast as he could, probably breaking the speed limit when he saw the fiery sparks near that bus stop. Annabeth was on the ground, struggling to get up and grab her knife. Her clothing was torn, and the basilisks were closing in on her.

 _Damn it,_ Percy thought. Now he had save her from the stupid snakes. Monsters were bound to show up after a demigod made a phone call. But… they were just little snakes, Annabeth should have had no trouble kicking their sorry asses. That's when he saw the grass shrivel up as they slithered across it, and occasionally blow a bit of fire.

As they prepared to lunge, Percy pushed opened the car door and took a ball point pen out of his right pocket. He stepped out as he uncapped the pen, which became his beloved sword, riptide. Then, he willed the rain to push the little monsters back, the water creating a wave strong enough to get them back into the road. This didn't faze them, as they continued forward, their luminous yellow eyes fixed on Percy now. One lunged straight at him with incredible speed. He sliced it with his blade, which began to steam a little.

As more and more began to attack him. He realized that he couldn't beat them all. He couldn't slice them all at the same time, and his arms were tiring. He fell to the ground, expecting them to overrun him any time soon, when from behind, someone began stabbing and slashing at the basilisks, taken by surprise, they stayed motionless for about 3 seconds in which Annabeth was able to kill about 5 or 6 snakes. Percy sat in the grass, stupefied. Annabeth looked him in the eye urgently as the snakes started to ambush her. She stood on the road as the snakes slithered across the sidewalk.

"Car!" She yelled at him, and Percy understood immediately.

She jumped over the snakes to the grass before they could act, and Percy used all of his power to push the remaining basilisks into the road as he controlled the rainwater. The basilisks hissed in unison, clearly irritated that they had killed so many of their brethren.

3… 2… 1… Percy thought. On one, a huge 8 wheeler had charged right across the snakes. They were toast, as were the wheels of that truck.

All that was left was a few traces of gold dust.

An awkward silence lasted for about 10 seconds before Percy started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Annabeth asked.

Percy shook his head, "Nothing. It just felt familiar. Good, familiar."

"Okay." Annabeth said. "Let's get going."

She grabbed her bag, and Percy opened the passenger seat door. Annabeth looked kind of hesitant before she took a seat.

Percy felt kind of uncomfortable as he took his own seat right next to her, as she refused to look at him.

He decided not to say anything either, and turned on some music. About ten minutes later Annabeth spoke.

"Thanks." She said,

"Well, I couldn't exactly just leave you there." Percy said, mentally face-palming. _Real smooth, Percy_. He thought.

"Yeah, well." Annabeth said bitterly. "I wasn't sure what to expect after you left last time without an explanation or anything."

That struck a nerve. "I just saved you back there, you know."

"So I'm just supposed to forgive you just like that." Annabeth said sarcastically.

Most girls would have stopped it before that. They would have said sorry and tried to get as close to Percy as possible. But Annabeth Chase was not most girls, and Percy knew that very well.

"Look, I left you, that was my fault, but I just saved your sorry butt back there, and now I'm giving you a ride. We're even." Percy said, trying to stay calm.

"A long, horrible heartbreak with no warning or explanation, not even an apology versus some help. Do the math, seaweed brain, does it look like we're even?" Annabeth said angrily.

Percy didn't say anything. Seaweed brain. She had called him seaweed brain.

And he knew that what she said was true. They used to save each other all the time. It was like a daily routine with the life of a demigod. What had happened? Percy felt a surge of guilt, making his heart ache and throat burn.

"I'm sorry." He croaked.

Annabeth looked away. Although he didn't hear a thing from her the rest of the ride, he saw a single tear run down her cheek. Or was it just his imagination?

Although he was driving, he felt the urge to place a hand on her shoulder, comfort her, tell her everything was alright, maybe even hug her. He scolded himself for feeling that way. He had ended it with her long ago, and now she was just a sister to him. _A sister that hates you and wishes that you were never part of her life,_ a voice in his head pointed out.

If she wasn't a sister or a friend to him, than what was she?

 **A/N: And it's finally the end to this crappy chapter! Still, I hope you like it, even though it was terribly late, and give it a review! Until next update, which will hopefully be earlier, though no promises with the school year starting and all! ;) Here's the link for the dress.** sites/default/files/silver%20sequin% 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 **A/N: Surprise! Early review! Not what you expected from me, huh? Can't really blame you. But I hope this is review, follow and favorite worthy, unlike last time, where I got one review (thanks Catsa123 for the great review!). This chapter is a little different, you see, because it's in… Piper's perspective! YAY! Hopefully this satisfies the PerPiper haters out there, but if you hate Jiper, this is not for you!**

 **Okay, sorry for the long note, but notes are important, sometimes, so read the end one (not NOW, when you're done!) and be warned, there's a LONG flashback involving Jiper! Now, enough chatter, let's get to the story! ;)**

Piper's POV.

The campfire had ended an hour ago, and Percy was nowhere to be seen. Piper wasn't sure if it was the bad weather, or perhaps an accident, or maybe monsters… most likely monsters. Piper should have been worried out of her mind, and she was worried, but for some reason, it wasn't the only thing on her mind; all she could seem to think about in her cabin bed was the guy at the last night's party…

*flashback*

 _Piper had spent time dressing up for the party, more so than usual. She had tailored her pale pink dress so that it fit her perfectly, spent an hour getting her makeup so that she looked like America's next top model, and styled her hair in a Greek princess style bun. She didn't know why she had dressed up so well for the party; it would only be a few hours in the night, and her bun would surely fall out, but she just had this feeling… Piper couldn't quite describe this emotion, a mix between anticipation, nervousness and excitement with something else to it. But she did know that tonight would be special._

 _Percy said that he didn't want to go, which was understandable; he had never been the hugest partyer, and he had his swim team wanted to spend a night celebrating their successful season (I don't swim so I really don't know how this works), and Piper wasn't going to spend the night alone._

 _She prayed to her mother that this would be a great party after the last one's disaster. Piper shuddered, but she knew it wouldn't happen again, since Percy wouldn't be with her this time. Percy was already gone, so her friend Hadley had told her boyfriend to drive her to the party._

 _When she walked out the door, she was surprised that a pale blue porche was waiting outside of her door. Was she late? No, she was on time. But she was surprised that the guy had shown up to pick her up right when she needed him. Percy never was on time, she thought bitterly, always had something that made him late somehow. She shook those bad feelings off. The envious and self-conscious side of her always seemed to sneak in at the worst times._

 _Maybe he's a nerd, Piper thought, not that there's anything wrong with that, but he still wouldn't be my type. Well, Miss Piper, another voice in her head said, that certainly explains the fancy sports car!_

 _As Piper approached, the mysterious driver opened his car door. And, to Piper's delight opened the passenger seat door. What a gentleman, she thought, but when she saw his face, those thoughts all fell into the background._

 _He only wore a crisp white t-shirt and jeans, but he still managed to look like a model with his sky-blue irises and soft-looking blond hair. He didn't look like a complete softie though, not even close, His eyes were warm yet determined, his muscles defined, but not so large as to make him seem bulky, in fact, the only imperfection she could see was a scar on his lower lip, which told her that he wasn't a god._

 _Piper snapped back to reality when she realized that he was staring at her as well. Piper took a deep breath and decided to play it cool._

 _"Piper, right?" He said when Piper was close enough to enter the car._

 _"Uh, yeah." She said, uncharacteristically quietly._

 _"You don't sound so sure." He said and Piper felt more flustered than she ever had before._

 _"Well, I surer about my name than I'm sure about what yours is." Piper said, hands on her hips._

 _The stranger laughed, it was a deep, baritone chuckle that Piper felt strangely attracted to, "How rude of me," He said. "I'm Jason. Jason Grace. Hadley told me a lot about you."_

 _"Nothing bad, I hope." Piper hoped that she didn't sound as nervous as she felt._

 _"Not at all." He assured her. "Now hop in so we aren't late to the party."_

 _"This is probably the earliest I've ever gone to a party." Piper admitted with a small smile._

 _"Really?" He frowned as he started the car. "What kind of person is driving you to your parties?"_

 _"My boyfriend isn't the timeliest person." Piper said, chewing the inside of her mouth. "Most boyfriends aren't, to be honest."_

 _"If I had been late to bring Hadley to all of her parties, she would've dumped me by now." Jason said. Piper wasn't sure if he was joking, though to come to think about it, Hadley was pretty uptight._

 _"I don't think it's right to dump someone because of a certain weakness. If there are no conflicts and arguments, what kind of relationship would you be in? The couple wouldn't understand each other." Piper explained._

 _"Well, sometimes, I do feel like Hadley is annoyed with my presence, she didn't let me drive her to the party today, and went with some of her friends and guy friends." Jason furrowed his brows, which Piper couldn't help but find cute. "But I feel horrible right now; they aren't the greatest drivers. And I know for a fact that Jace is a heavy drinker."_

 _"She'll be alright," Piper promised, using her charmspeak to soothe him. "Hadley's practically indestructible."_

 _Jason's shoulders, which had previously been tensed, lowered back to the normal level. "I hope so."_

 _Was Percy ever this worried about her? She certainly hoped so. Jason was just so caring for Hadley, it made Piper feel jealous. Piper knew this was wrong. She had been attracted to Jason since the very beginning, and he had made her feel much more flustered than Percy ever had. What was happening?_

 _Jason wasn't a demigod, so it made sense that he was worrying about these little things, right? If Jason wasn't a demigod, than they could never be together anyways, since she'd have to live hiding the truth from him. Piper tried to reason with herself as much as possible._

 _When they got to the party, Hadley wasn't there yet. Jason immediately got worried._

 _"Where is she?" Jason asked. I could tell that he was immensely worried when he say that she wasn't yet there as she had been driven by unsafe drivers._

 _"Relax," Piper said, "she probably is just a bit late."_

 _Jason shook his head, "Hadley doesn't like to be late, and neither do I. Once I was 10 minutes late to bring her to her best friend's birthday party, and she got really mad at me. She didn't talk to me for days after that."_

 _Piper didn't say anything. What if something bad did happen to Hadley? Why couldn't she have just gone with Jason? From what she could tell, Jason was a great driver, and an even better person. Boyfriends didn't get any more caring than that. Could it be because he was a bad kisser?_

 _Piper cursed at herself. Why was she fantasizing over Jason? Percy was great. Hot, funny, and selfless. But then why was she beginning to wonder how Jason's lips would feel on hers?_

 _"Piper, are you okay?" Jason asked._

 _Piper was grateful for having him here, even if he was the one causing her all of the problems. He was worried about her, just like he was worried about his late girlfriend._

 _"Yes, I'm fine." Piper said. "Want to get to know each other? Just so we can take our minds off Hadley for a moment."_

 _"Yeah, sure." Jason said. "What do you do as a job, or are you still in college?"_

 _"Well, I am a part time model, but I really want to be an actress." Piper said._

 _"So that's how Hadley met you then." Jason said. "Acting school. Duke?"_

 _"Yeah, Duke. What about you?" Piper was anxious to leave the subject. She didn't want to be a model, but it made good money, for which she was saving up to buy a car. Her days of 'stealing' cars with charm speak were over._

 _"Aerodynamics." He said, slightly bashfully. So maybe he was a nerd, but Piper found herself not minding that at all, in fact, it only served to make her think that he was cuter._

 _"Cool, I wish I were that smart." Piper joked._

 _"You don't need smarts when you're that pretty." Jason said, and he sounded dead serious._

 _Piper blushed so hard she was sure it looked like her face looked like a tomato. "Thanks?"_

 _"Not that you're dumb." Jason said quickly._

 _Piper was dumbstruck. He was by far the most considerate guy she had ever met. Percy teased her all the time, and never worried about offending her. Jason had complimented her, and worried that she'd take it the wrong way. He was just so… perfect._

 _In the past half an hour, people had entered the doors nonstop, and there were over 30. Jason's head was turned around, his eyes glued on the newly entered five; Hadley was one of them. And she was perfectly fine except that she was laughing and all over the guy with the light brown hair and piercings, who wasn't her boyfriend._

 _"Oh no." Piper whispered._

 _Jason's eyes were glued on Hadley, his expression the exact opposite of his. He stood up and walked in the direction of Hadley. Piper decided to give them time to themselves._

 _She didn't see Jason for the rest of the party. But as she danced to the music, she couldn't get her new 'friend' out of her mind. She knew that she would see him again after the party since he was supposed to take her back as well, though from what she'd seen, Jason wouldn't be in the best mood to take her back after what she'd seen. But she trusted him to do it anyways. She trusted him more than she trusted most people she knew, pretty much everyone except Percy, her dad, and a few close friends. But Percy was acting strangely the past few weeks, especially earlier that day…_

 _Piper was more than rejoiced when she found Jason waiting for her at the door, so much that she almost missed the pained expression on his face._

 _"Are you okay?" Piper asked, though clearly he wasn't. "Did you dump her? She probably deserved it."_

 _Jason shook his head. "No, she dumped me. I know it was her fault, but I just can't help but…"_

 _Piper's blood boiled. Hadley had dumped Jason after what she had done? She was the most ungrateful little bitch Piper had ever had the misfortune of knowing. Her usually shy personality burned away, never had she been so angry on someone's behalf. He had treated her so well… and now she had just thrown him away like one of her used up beauty products._

 _"That's disgusting." Piper spat. Hadley had been a close friend to her before… before this. "I can't believe she did that to you!"_

 _"Piper, it's okay. Things like that happen. Let's not dwell on her, okay?" Jason sounded weary._

 _Piper's anger level only diminished slightly. "After she hurt you like that, how can you just let it go? I say you go get revenge on her. Get even!"_

 _"Piper…" Jason said hesitantly._

 _"What?" Piper was mad beyond reason. She felt wild, angry, out of control._

 _He took a coin out of his pocket, but his eyes were trained above her head. Piper froze as he flipped the coin and it turned into a golden sword. Then, he ran past her, as if charging something._

 _Piper's mind finally registered it. A monster. She took out her dagger, which was in her purse, and turned to the monster as fast as she could._

 _It was a long scaly creature with three heads. Its eyes glowed red and its horns were as sharp as Katropis. Worst of all, it was ten feet long, and breathed a strange looking smoke._

 _Jason started charging it with his sword. Piper knew from experience how hard it was to defeat dragons. She snuck up behind it, and began stabbing its back. A distraction, so that Jason, the one with the better weapon for this kind of thing and hopefully better swordsmanship could finish it off once and for all._

 _Her strategy worked; the dragon turned towards her, and blew the smoke in her face, which temporarily stopped her from breathing, but she was able to recover, and dodge the other blasts, jabbing her dagger at it as much as she could without getting hit by the bad breath._

 _Jason understood the plan. As she continued with the diversion, He cut off the three heads with one swift motion and then in the chest._

 _When the beast fell to the ground, Piper and Jason stared at each other for a long moment._

 _"You're… a demigod." Piper stuttered._

 _"So are you." Jason said._

 _"This is so awkward." Piper muttered after a while._

 _"Definitely." Jason agreed. "Want to go get some coffee?"_

 _"That would be wonderful." Piper said, starting to smile for no apparent reason, even though they had just fought a dragon._

 _"Let's go." Jason said with a small smile._

 _Piper couldn't feel lightheaded as she followed him to his car._

 _It turned out she had Jason liked the same kind of music, though honestly, who didn't like pop music? Piper rolled her eyes. Percy didn't. He preferred heavy metal and Fall Out Boy especially._

 _Piper just couldn't wait for the warm coffee, in fact, it seemed like it should be a normal thing for after every monster you kill, go to Starbucks to just to reward yourself. That's what she would do anyways. Piper had always loved coffee. Maybe a drink for romance? It had happened with French, so it was definitely possible._

 _She practically jumped out of the car when they got there._

 _"Tall mocha." Piper said when she entered the building, feeling unusually giddy._

 _Jason entered later, "Tall Frappuccino." He ordered._

 _As they waited, Piper couldn't help but stare at Jason every once in a while. Even as downcast as he seemed, he was still handsome. Percy's handsome too, Piper's mind argued._

 _Jason went to go grab the drinks, so gentlemanly as always, and as they drank, Piper started a conversation. She didn't like him looking so sad; it made her feel sad too for no reason._

 _"Who's your godly parent?" Piper asked._

 _Jason looked uncomfortable, "Zeus."_

 _Piper couldn't hide her surprise. "One of the big three? Then you could've been in the prophecy!"_

 _Jason's discomfort only deepened. "Yeah, well you see. I don't remember anything prior to three years ago."_

 _This only served to shock Piper even more. "You mean you had amnesia? How does that work? I'm sorry, I'm being awfully nosy. You probably don't want to talk so much after your breakup."_

 _Jason sighed, "Yeah well, if Hadley was going to be the kind of person to cheat on me, I'm not really sure I still want to be with her. Cheaters always lose."_

 _What he said slightly bothered Piper, although she wasn't really cheating. She and Jason were just talking as friends, or at least that's how he felt._

 _"Yeah, I suppose." Piper agreed absentmindedly._

 _"Who's your godly parent, then?" Jason asked._

 _"Aphrodite." Piper said shortly. She didn't like to always think of herself as the child of the love goddess. She was not all lovey-dovey or a makeup freak, although she did put effort into tonight's makeup._

 _The sides of Jason's mouth quirked upwards slightly, and Piper's heart fluttered for a second, "I could've guessed based on your looks."_

 _Piper blushed. "That's not really how I like to define myself, though. Other people have built my self-image for me so far, and now I want to make my own path and decide my own future." Piper explained. This wasn't something she told people generally, even though it was 100% true. She just didn't want Jason to think that she was someone like Kim Kardashian; a celebrity for no reason, but still famous nonetheless._

 _"Your boyfriend is Percy Jackson, the war hero, right?" Jason wondered, frowning._

 _This wasn't really something she wanted to talk about with Jason, but she nodded, "Yeah. And my dad's Tristan McLean. The famous actor."_

 _Jason smiled. "Well his movies are pretty great. King of Sparta."_

 _Piper rolled her eyes._

 _"Oh please, that is the one movie I'd like to never hear about again." Piper said. She smiled, nonetheless._

 _Jason smiled in a kind yet teasing way, "Okay then, beauty queen, I won't talk about it."_

 _"Beauty queen?" Piper lifted a brow. "Suit yourself, Sparky."_

 _Jason blushed lightly and laughed, and Piper joined in._

 _Finally, Jason said, "It's getting late. I'll take you back now if you want."_

 _Piper realized she hadn't drunk any of her coffee, but she found herself ignoring this. "Sure."_

 _On the way back, they sang to their favorite pop songs, laughed at jokes (mostly Piper's dumb jokes), and had more fun than Piper could remember having with Percy. Did this mean something? She wondered._

 _The night ended when Jason dropped her off, they exchanged numbers, and she pecked him on the cheek, then cursed at herself for doing it._

 _She entered her apartment with butterflies in her stomach, feeling that the night could not have been more perfect._

*End Flashback*

Piper sighed contentedly as she lay on her back. She knew, as a daughter of Aphrodite, that she was no longer enamored of Percy. But did she really love Jason? Could she really talk to him again without destroying things with Percy? One meeting had gotten them that far, how far could another one go? Would she ever even see him again?

She knew that he was only one phone call away, but she felt uneasy calling it. Cheaters were bad, even if it really wasn't cheating.

Piper couldn't believe how much she felt like breaking things off with Percy, the guy she'd been with for over a year.

He would be devastated. But would he be? She knew that he was hiding things from her; her instincts told her, and she also knew that he never forgot his first love, Annabeth.

Perhaps it was time to be real with her feeling, and stay true to her heart.

If Percy was no longer her priority, than it was time to be real, and follow her heart. She wasn't going to pretend she was still in love with Percy any more, her heart was set on telling him tomorrow.

Unfortunately, this proved to be easier said than done.

 **A/N: So, Perpiper haters, is this good enough for you? I was disappointed with the one review last time, and this time I hope to get more review, please, please, PLEASE! Okay, I'm not that desperate, but, I was impressed with the views I got, now over 3,500! Also, cheers for 25 reviews! Let's try to get it up to 30!**

 **I'm going to Italy tomorrow, so there may not be an amazingly fast update or even a timely update. What can I say? I'm not exactly a timely person. I'm a rather large procrastinator to be honest. But when I'm inspired, I get going. So R &R to inspire me! ;) (Please)**

 **Love you guys, and until next update! I'm really pissed about the school year starting too.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 **A/N: I am really excited about the positive feedback I got for last chapter. 33 reviews everyone! I'm really happy about that, and before my school year starts, I'd like to post one last chapter for you guys, and this one will have more Percabeth. Also, I crossing my fingers for this chapter to get to 40 reviews. Please, please, please review if you have anything in the chapter to comment on. This is also the chapter where the revelation happens, although it is a bit worse than I expected it to be. Oh well, not every chapter can be perfect. Enjoy!**

 **Also, here are some replies to comments:**

 **Guest reviewer: Sorry if I offended you. I have nothing against Fall Out Boy and I love Uma Thurman as much as the next person. I was just saying that that was the kind of music that Percy liked, Piper is more of the mainstream pop kind of girl. And I like pop music too.**

Annabeth's POV.

It seemed that all of the campers had called it a day at CHB. Annabeth felt so awake and jittery, she thought that she'd never stop shaking. The fire from the campfire was still lit, if only barely. Still, from experience, Annabeth knew that when she got there, it would start to grow.

When she was 7, and had nightmares or couldn't fall asleep, she would call Luke to sit by the campfire with her, and comfort her and tell her stories. After Luke left, Annabeth would just spend hours alone, staring into the campfire, watching as it ate away at the wood. She wondered what was so great about the dark side, what was so wonderful that Luke had chosen it over her. She spent those days in pain. After Percy had helped her smile again, she never went back to the campfire, pondering what had gone wrong. She had never thought about it until now.

Annabeth sat close to the fire, looking at the flames fly, feeling the warmth bathe her face, and calm her jitters. Here it was just her and the fire – she didn't need to talk; the fire simply was there for her. And it continued strong even in the worst of times. It would never leave her, just as Luke had done, just as Percy had done.

It was a dumb metaphor, Annabeth knew, but she had lost so much in her life, been disappointed by too many things, that she needed something solid in her life, preferably someone, but she had learned to settle for something she could count on.

But that wasn't all she used the fire for. It invigorated her, made her angry, and helped her forget all of the sadness that slowed her down, if only temporarily. She shouldn't have been sad, for her horrible parents who had done so little to raise her well, or Luke or Percy. They were only obstacles in her life that slowed her down. If she got over them, she'd come out stronger than ever. It would then be in her power to get revenge on each and every one of them.

Today, she was no longer mad at Luke. She knew that he had been twisted in rage that she could relate to towards his godly parent. He wasn't able to think straight when he betrayed her. But he had still left her alone and in the dark. She didn't blame her parents either. Her dad and stepmom were victims of fear, and rightfully so; a demigod child brought nothing but monster trouble to the family.

But Percy… he had left for no reason. Right when she though that they were a happy couple, survived though so many hardships together, and finally, for once would have the wonderful time of their lives that they deserved, he had pushed her away. It was as if she wasn't good enough for the war hero.

Did this make her sad? Maybe once upon a time. But the more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed to be sad. It wasn't like Percy was the greatest guy in the world. If he left her, he was not worth her attention.

"Why are you glaring so ferociously at the fire?" A voice behind her made her jump.

When she finally processed everything, she froze.

"What on Gaea's green earth are you doing here?" She whispered harshly.

His smile fell, though Annabeth could tell, it had never been a real smile.

"I just had the same idea as you, okay?" he replied.

Think of the devil, Annabeth thought, more annoyed than amused.

"Sure, Percy, I know you saw me come here, what do you want?" Annabeth wasn't the most pleased with said individual at the moment.

Although Annabeth could barely see him, she recognized the fearful glint in his eyes.

"I really am sorry, for, you know." Percy started awkwardly.

Annabeth was only mildly shocked. Most guys would've forgotten after 3 years. They would've pushed the blame on her and avoided her at all costs. But Percy wasn't that kind of guy; he was kind of guy who took responsibility for his mistakes and sized up to his problems. Still, that didn't explain why he hadn't done it before.

Annabeth crossed her arms, "Sorry doesn't fix things, you know. It took you three years to realize this and apologize. You pushed me out of your life Percy. Not me. Now don't act like everything's okay now that you've found the courage to apologize. I don't want an apology. I want a reason."

Percy avoided her gaze. "I know that."

Of course he did. Percy had known her better than anyone in the time they had dated. She had exposed her secrets and deepest fears to him. He knew her inside out. Annabeth thought she knew him just as well until one day, out of the blue, he dumped her without an explanation.

"Then why is it hard to tell me?" Annabeth demanded.

Percy shook his head. "I just don't want you to end up like…like…"

"Like what?" Annabeth nearly snarled. He had left her broken, completely broken, and now he told her that he cared about what would happen to her?

"Like Luke." Percy shut his eyes tight.

Annabeth was surprised, "Luke? What do you mean, 'like Luke'?"

"He was so filled with hatred. He was angry at everyone, so much so that he betrayed everyone he knew. I couldn't see you like that, no matter how much it hurt you, how much it hurt us." Percy was struggling to keep his voice level.

Annabeth's bottom lip quivered, "I don't understand. I would never end up like Luke. I'm a daughter of Athena."

What in the world was Percy talking about? Annabeth wasn't sure whether she was more eager or scared to find out.

Percy hesitated, "It's your mother Annabeth. Your real mother, Athena. She said that she would destroy me if she saw us together. I was a coward. I just couldn't tell you about it. I was afraid that if I did, you would seek vengeance on your mother, on all of the gods. Then, your mother would destroy both of us."

"So you opted for shattering my heart and destroying my life instead, didn't you?" Annabeth's voice was calm and controlled.

"I didn't have a choice. I know I was a coward, okay? And I'm sorry that I hurt you. I know it was stupid, and I know that I should've told you. You need to understand that that seemed like the only option I had." Percy sounded desperate – and weak. Annabeth had never truly heard him sound like this. So ready to give up once and for all.

Annabeth felt like screaming at him some more, make him hurt like he had hurt her. But nothing came. She believed him. And she knew it was unfair to keep the blame on him.

"Thank you." Annabeth whispered, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Percy didn't smile. "I'm sorry." He whispered back, trying his best not to look at her.

He stood up, and Annabeth felt some warmth leave her side.

As he started towards his cabin, Annabeth called back to him, "Wait! Percy!"

He turned around, looking at her expectantly.

"Did you love me?" Annabeth asked, staring into his eyes, though unable to distinguish the color in the darkness.

"What do you mean?" Percy said nervously.

"When you left. Did you really love me?" Annabeth said, even though she knew the answer in her head. She just needed to hear it.

"Yes, I did." Percy said as he turned around and walked to the Poseidon cabin as fast as he could.

Three simple words, and Annabeth allowed tears to flow down her cheeks.

Percy had left not out of selfishness or cowardice, but for her safety. That was what Annabeth admired the most from Percy, it was what made her so sad when he had left, and what made her smile through her tears right now.

But as the angry fire for Percy disappeared, a new one was beginning to grow; this time for a goddess known as the goddess of wisdom – her very own mother.

 **A/N: So what did you think about this short chapter? Yes, no, maybe so? Did you love me for updating the story as busy as I was, as tomorrow is my first day of school? Put if all in your review when you express your thoughts about this chapter! If it wasn't as fast paced as you liked, as the Jasper was, remember that Percabeth's falling in love will take a while, and this was one big step with the whole forgiveness thing!**

 **Until next time, my readers, when the real adventure starts with the prophecy being revealed. Oops, did I say too much?**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 **A/N: 42 reviews? We are on a roll! I was overjoyed at all of the positive and occasional not-so-positive feedback so thanks so much everyone that reviewed! Also, I know that I'm really bad at remembering to do this, so this time, first time actually answering reviews! I know, surprising, right?**

 **Guest (about age): I am 14 years old, and I know that there are a few swear words, so god forgive me for my language and upbringings. As for the mature writer comment… Thank you! I am much more immature in real life.**

 **Bookloverforevah18: So am I! I just wanted to keep Percy his usual selfless self even with the… unexpected circumstances. As for Jasper/Jiper… I have a few near future plans for them.**

 **Guest (about Athena): Yeah… but who knows? Maybe there would be an underlying reason as to why Athena had said that (wink, wink). I hope you like this chapter!**

 **luv2read4reading: You'll just have to read and see! And thank you for being the 40** **th** **reviewer!**

 **Special thanks to Hispanic Thug and Catsa123 for being a 3-time reviewer, and really making my day!**

 **Also, for this chapter, since I am aiming for 50+, whoever is the 50** **th** **reviewer, Chapter 10, the big 1-0 will be dedicated to you! Don't roll your eyes and leave at my cheesy methods! Read and then you'll feel obligated to review! Let's get started after since this author's note is beyond long.**

 **Also, I realized how long it has been since I last posted a chapter… Scream at me if you want, flames will be used to toast marshmallows.**

Percy's POV.

Percy had slept well the last night, no nightmares or anything, which was surprising. He suspected it had to do with a certain daughter of Athena he had been forgiven by and while in the process, probably caused her to hate her own mother.

Percy sighed deeply, as much as he felt glad for clearing the air between him and Annabeth, he felt mentally unsettled. He remembered clearly the day Athena had come to him in person and ordered him to let go of Annabeth or die. There had been fear in her eyes then, almost as if she was scared that Annabeth being with him would kill her or something. Percy assumed that it had to do with their parent's rivalry, and tried his best to accept it for peace he had fought so hard for.

Now he began to suspect. It all started a few weeks ago when Rachel had called him in the middle of the night. She told him the prophecy in the raspy voice from Delphi, which had scared the shit out of Percy. He had proceeded to worry about it for about 3 days before mostly forgetting about it, until Poseidon brought it up again when he had visited Olympus that fateful day… He tried not to remember about that incident.

Apparently it wasn't about Piper, he recalled his dad had said. The only other girlfriend he'd had was Annabeth, could related to her? It was absurd, and Percy was sure of it until this morning. Maybe Athena was worried about the prophecy being about Percy and her daughter, mostly Percy potentially destroying the world.

Gah! This was definitely against his rules of keeping things simple. Besides, this was all hypothetical.

Percy sat up in his bed, and realized that he was still in the clothes he was wearing last night when he fought the little basilisks with Annabeth. His muscles should've been sore from a fight like that, but the 'curse of Achilles' wouldn't allow it. He was left untouched, though his clothes were in tatters.

He changed into a fresh shirt and jeans and hurried down to the dining hall, where'd they're surely all be missing him at breakfast, after all, who would finish the pancakes if he wasn't there?

Percy first saw Annabeth's unkempt curly blond hair, which she clearly hadn't bothered to fix after the fight. Then, he realized that Piper was sitting, facing her, next to a boy with military-cut blond hair and electric blue eyes, Percy felt unsettled looking at him, could it have been his godly parent? Those blue eyes looked too familiar.

Percy took a seat next to Piper, who appeared deep in a conversation with the guy next to her. Percy frowned. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it wasn't like it wasn't obvious to begin with. In fact, Piper barely acknowledged Percy when he sat down next to her; he had gone on a fairly dangerous trip the previous day!

"How long are you staying?" Piper asked.

"A week or so." The boy said. "What about you?"

"About that long." Piper said. Percy furrowed his brows at that. He and Piper hadn't planned the length of their stay yet.

"The party is tomorrow, isn't it?" the girlfriend thief (sort of) asked. "Are you going with anyone?"

"She's going with me." Percy cut in.

Percy waited for the annoyance, or shock to appear on his face – nothing.

"You must be Percy Jackson! I'm Jason Grace." He said, a small smile gracing his lips.

Before he could make a stupid pun, Annabeth spoke. "Grace? Do you know Thalia? Thalia Grace."

Jason's expressions changed over the course of 3 seconds: from confusion, to frustration, and finally realization.

"That's my sister!" He exclaimed, in an unusually surprised manner.

"Wow," Percy muttered sarcastically. "That took you a moment to figure out."

He didn't say it loud, but Piper heard him anyways. She glared at him before explaining. "Jason had amnesia. He doesn't remember anything about his past."

Percy turned to Annabeth, where they exchanged skeptical looks. Well, Annabeth seemed more curious than skeptical, but still. They were both thinking around the same thing. This random boy comes after all these years, claiming to be Thalia's brother with no memory, and looking nothing like Thalia either.

"Since when?" Annabeth wondered.

"Since 2 years ago, actually. But I was on a bus, on my way to MIT, where this guy named Leo, supposedly the son of Hephaestus, kind of explained the demigod world to me. But I had no recollection of what happened before. I've started to remember a few things recently, just as I see them. Little snippets of it all…" Jason frowned, as if it pained him to think about his blurry past.

Percy was still unconvinced, but Piper looked like she believed every word. "Wow, it must've been hard, adapting and all." She said calmingly, using her charmspeak.

Jason's shoulders relaxed, and Percy felt himself unravel a little bit too.

Jason smiled at her like she was the light in his world, something that made all of Percy's senses tingle. He hadn't seen that look in a long time. It made Percy feel so empty inside, irrationally so, and his cheeks reddened, feeling like he was intruding on something private, which was ridiculous. Piper was his girlfriend! But Percy couldn't bring himself to get angry. Just watching Jason and Piper look at each other like that, he knew that he had lost Piper.

Percy didn't eat too much for breakfast; his pancakes tasted bland, and his French toast tasted like sawdust. He couldn't wait for breakfast to be over, with Piper and Jason laughing and chatting like idiots. He looked at Annabeth, and she just pretended she didn't notice, cutting up her pancakes into miniscule, square pieces, which should've been impossible, but clearly wasn't for Annabeth. She then doused them with an appropriate amount of syrup – well, appropriate for Percy, probably much more than appropriate by normal standards, and chewed each bite thoughtfully. Percy watched amusedly, as eventually, she got impatient of eating them one by one, or just simply couldn't stab them with the fork anymore, and dumped the remaining pieces in her mouth with a spoon.

Percy laughed a little, and Annabeth snapped her head upwards, "What?"

"Just the eating habits." Percy smiled a little when Annabeth gave him the classic 'seaweed brain eye-roll', that Percy missed more than he'd ever admit.

"I was using them as little blocks to organize them into my architectural plans for this project." She said.

"Oh." Leave it to him not to notice anything. Generally, ADHD meant that he could take in many things at once. Oh, how he proved science wrong over and over again.

Percy didn't know what else to do, so he tried to start a conversation. "Still interested in architecture?"

The answer was obvious, duh, of course she was; what was she doing right now, idiot? But there weren't many other conversation starters that he could use at the moment.

"Yeah, while you've been swimming all over the place." She probably didn't mean to sound bitter, but she did.

"It can be tiring too." Percy sounded more defensive than sympathetic.

"I suppose, though your career isn't on the line or anything. You could get on just about any team without even trying." Annabeth said.

When it was said like that, nothing seemed very complicated. It seemed like he had the dream life for any demigod or mortal, which wasn't as accurate as he'd like it to be.

"I have my own troubles," Percy said slowly.

"Doesn't everyone?" Annabeth sighed, and Percy wanted nothing more but to comfort her. For a moment, he forgot completely about Piper and Jason.

"What kind of project are you working on?" Percy asked, anxious to change the subject. This was perhaps the most awkward conversation he'd ever had, and he'd had some pretty bad ones (well, this excluded 'the talk', which he'd gotten a lot earlier than he would've liked).

Annabeth chewed here lower lip, like she did when she was nervous, "I want to get the job for redesigning the white house." She admitted.

Percy was momentarily speechless. Then, he uttered all that he could, "Wow."

Annabeth's cheeks started to redden, as if she was embarrassed to actually think that she might succeed, "It's just a hope, you know. It would be amazing, but I don't think they'll hire me; I probably don't have enough experience."

"But you're a great architect!" Percy exclaimed, a little louder than he meant to say. "You made mount Olympus look awesome." Percy winced at his own words. Their encounter at Mount Olympus was… rather unpleasant, shall we say.

Annabeth hid a smile, "Yes, but there are far better ones out there."

Percy shrugged. "You're a demigod, you could probably kick their asses without half trying."

"Right." She said amusedly.

Just then, Percy felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to so Piper, her expression grim. Uh-oh… Piper hardly ever got angry, but when she did, she was rather frightening. Though not as scary as Annabeth, he added as an afterthought.

He got out of his seat, and followed Piper to wherever she was going. It was behind a wall, where no one would probably find them. This could mean one of two things: Either she was ready to take their relationship to the next level, or… she was going to break up with him. Percy's throat constricted. The odds were not in his favor.

"Percy," She started. "I don't think that you've been feeling really into this relationship."

Uh-oh, he thought, here it comes. He braced himself for the words that would surely follow.

"And to be honest with you, I haven't been either." Piper admitted, and Percy blinked a few times. What?

"At the party a week ago or so that you didn't want to go to, I met a guy named Jason." She began.

"Wait, is he the guy who was sitting and chatting with you at breakfast?" Percy asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, that Jason." She paused, as if expecting him to suddenly go off, like a bomb. Percy remained calm. "So, anyways…" Piper trailed off awkwardly, clearly unsure how to end the statement without completely slaughtering anything left between the two of them.

"You think that your feeling for me have been replaced with feelings for him." Percy said, little emotion penetrating his voice. He was taking this breakup oddly well.

Piper nodded slowly, tears in her eyes.

Percy turned around to walk away, but Piper put a hand on his shoulder. "It's not that I hate you or anything, it's just, I think it's best for both of us if we simply move on… I can't cheat on you, and it would just be a disaster if we continued any longer."

Percy knew this to be true, but he didn't quite want to admit it. "Who says I didn't still have feelings for you, Piper? You are one cold woman."

When Percy arrived at his cabin, he felt, empty and angry; mostly angry. He had been so nice to Piper, and when she had downright told him that she didn't like him anymore, well, it hurt.

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. Piper seemed to have such an easy life, despite being a demigod. She was rich, beautiful, and could charm anyone to do basically anything. Percy had worked hard for everything and sacrificed so much.

And now he was pitying himself.

He heard footsteps leading to his cabin. He turned to see Annabeth there, a strange look on her face.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "You never returned to breakfast, and everyone was kind of worried."

Should he tell her? "Yeah, I'm fine, except Piper just –"

"Dumped you?" Annabeth interrupted, her gray eyes hard like steal. "Yeah, I understand, it can be hard."

There was an edge to her voice, and Percy couldn't help but flinch. "Yes." He finally said, since he had nothing else to say, really.

"You'll get over it." She said, her voice sounding tired.

Percy tried for a smile. Annabeth smiled back, and it seemed genuine, though she was a good actress, so Percy could never be too sure.

"See you at capture the flag!" She told him as she left.

"You too." Percy replied.

"I'm so going to beat you." She called.

"You wish!" Percy yelled back.

"That's what I would say to myself if I was going to lose too, seaweed brain." She laughed, and Percy was too stunned to reply.

"Wise girl." He whispered when she had long gone, Piper no longer on his mind.

 **A/N: Well, that's basically the end of this chapter! I basically wrote everything already, and just forgot to post it. Also, I lied about the prophecy being this chapter. It's next chapter (probably)!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

A/N: It's been nearly two years since I last updated and you're probably wondering where the hell I've been. The truth is, I have no real excuse for stopping, and I tend to have issues finishing things. Anyway, I moved into my new house last week and we didn't have wifi or service for the first few days, and I was snooping through some of my whole stuff, when I found my fanfic folder, and I read all 44 pages of this thing. I then read some reviews when I got wifi, and I decided to get back on my feet, write a few more chapters before the start of my sophomore year, and see how this writing thing goes.

Annabeth's POV

Annabeth had slept on it. The fact that Percy was a seaweed brain for not telling her, but it was not his fault, nonetheless. He was right about one thing, however; her anger towards her mom.

Athena the "wise"… Annabeth scoffed just thinking about her. Her mom had always seemed like a far off figure to worship and idolize, but being so mad at her was almost like a real mother-daughter relationship – except in this case, Annabeth was an adult and her mom had threatened to kill her boyfriend, well, ex-boyfriend.

Annabeth promised to confront her mom on her next trip to Olympus, now that she was planning to stay at Camp Half Blood for a while. It wouldn't be easy seeing Percy every day, but Camp had already started to feel like home.

And home was where the drama was. Annabeth got to see the so called evil counselor the previous night, and Annabeth had every intention of taking her down.

Marilyn had ordered everyone to clean the cabin while she sat reading The Art of War; a book Annabeth loved as much as the next strategist, but not when it was time to clean the cabin. She told Marilyn to join in of be demoted as head counselor, at which point Marilyn, who couldn't have been older than sixteen or seventeen, took out a whip, a weapon that most demigods shied away from due to the danger it could present to the user. However, if used properly, whips could do serious damage.

Annabeth could not believe the corruption that was going on in the Athena cabin, and challenged Marilyn to a battle.

The entire cabin as well as a few other students watched and some even joined in. In the end, Marilyn had lost the battle as well as her title, which Annabeth gave to Ashley, the girl who was next in line for counselor.

Anyway, a night of celebration for the end of Marilyn's tyranny and a drama filled morning with Percy and Piper's break-up had brought Annabeth to a complete standstill. What was she going to do to make her days count at her beloved camp? How did she feel about Percy and vice versa? They were both technically available…

Annabeth chided herself for thinking that way, and on the day she was supposed to relax!

"Hey Annabeth!" A voice exclaimed, bringing her out of her revelry.

"Oh my goodness… Rachel!" Annabeth hugged her old friend.

"It's been so long since you and Percy have come to camp, and just in time for the KIG party!" Rachel gushed, simultaneously reminding Annabeth about the party and her… date.

"Goodness I didn't even know that was a thing until I came here! I actually got my dress yesterday." Annabeth said, less enthusiastically than she hoped it would come out.

"Let's try on our dresses together! Do you have a date?" Rachel seemed so excited that Annabeth smiled, remembering Derek.

"Of course! Just like old times. And my date is Derek from the Apollo cabin."

"Major hottie alert!" Rachel and Annabeth laughed, the first time for both of them in quite some time.

"What about you?" Annabeth asked.

"So you know how I'm not technically supposed to date…" Rachel started and Annabeth raised a brow.

"Yes, go on."

"Well, um, I actually have to tell you something… I'm gay!"

Annabeth's mouth must've dropped to the ground, "Uh… wow. I did not see that coming. Do you… um have a girlfriend?"

Rachel sighed, "I managed to make Chiron agree to letting me date, but I fell for a mortal, which means this part of my life, being an oracle, I'll have to hide from her."

Annabeth was still trying to process, "Wow… that's a lot. Can't say I've had that much going on in my love life, which has been nonexistent."

"At least you have a date…" Suddenly, Rachel's eyes fogged over and she grabbed Annabeth's shoulders, making her yelp. A green smoke started coming from her mouth as she spoke:

 _A storm shall strike the gentle water,_

 _A love shall be shattered,_

 _A curse erupts, revenge for a daughter -_

 _To save all that has ever mattered,_

 _Four shall travel to a mystical tree;_

 _Two birds, the sky and the sea._

 _One love shall in watery depths drown,_

 _A betrayal from the most trusted,_

 _If you refused my words, be warned,_

 _A battle cry will surely sound._

Rachel promptly let go, and looked at Annabeth strangely, who was frozen.

"Did I just…" Rachel started to ask.

"Yes you did." Annabeth said grimly.

They stayed silent for a little bit.

"Wish I could say 'just like old times' happily, but to be honest, this is the last thing we need right before the KIG party." Rachel pursed her lips.

"We have to tell someone though." Annabeth dragged Rachel to Chiron's office.

"Chiron, Rachel got a prophe-" Annabeth stopped talking when she saw a figure with the torso and head of a man and the body of a horse, lying on the ground, a sword in his back.

 **A/N: To be perfectly honest, I don't know where that ending came from, only that it seemed dramatic and now I need to somehow work it into the curse. But take your guesses: Is he dead? Is he not? And until next time, my dear readers, hopefully not two years from now.**


End file.
